SOAT1 and infection: As the immune response of birds to Salmonella infection primarily involves a pro-inflammatory reaction, Salmonella is known to evade host immunity by upregulating the expression of SOCS3, thereby inhibiting the JAK/STAT pathway, leading to reduced production of cytokines like IFN-γ responsible for bacterial clearance and inhibition of MHC class IIβ expression to avoid detection of the immune response and persist in infection (36, 59).